Independent expert: Pipeline will be safe, if built and run right

December 11, 2007|By Bob Mercer, American News Correspondent

PIERRE - TransCanada's plans for its crude-oil pipeline meet or exceed U.S. standards for pipeline safety, a neutral expert testified on Monday at the state Public Utilities Commission hearing on a permit for the company to construct and operate the pipeline through South Dakota. TransCanada has received a federal waiver to use thinner, stronger X-80 pipe, similar to what is allowed in Canada, rather than thicker, lower-strength X-70 pipe that has been the standard used in the United States. Provided that TransCanada adheres to the requirements in the federal special permit, the thinner-walled pipe will be “as safe or safer,” according to William Walsh, a metallurgy engineer from Woodridge, Ill., with extensive experience in pipeline projects and research. He said the thinner pipe that TransCanada plans to use will have higher steel quality and therefore will be stronger. “I think it addresses a lot of my concerns for any potential of failure and any potential of leakage,” Commissioner Gary Hanson told the witness. Walsh was part of an engineering team hired by the PUC's staff to independently review the design, construction techniques, parts and materials TransCanada plans to use for building and running the pipeline. David Schramm, another of the PUC's consultants from the same Illinois firm, said he wouldn't recommend a metal casing around the pipeline because the practice has been found to lead to corrosion and become a safety issue. Schramm said companies no longer install metal casing on new projects.